The Last Ditch Goodbye
by ava writes
Summary: There's a storm brewing in the horizon and for the likes of Harry Potter it edges on the autumn of his childhood. (Some were born great, some achieve greatness, others have greatness thrust upon them — the ones who crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones that actually do).


**PREFACE:**

_This will be (hopefully) a three arc book, sort of similar to how the Hunger Games has been written out, but at the same time, not. This fic will focus on the first act: The Last Ditch Goodbye, which will be the last stretch of Harry's childhood and teenage years and his adventures of recreating the Marauders in his fifth year. Since this is an AU of the entire series (or AU past the sorting), there will be some parts that will stay true to the books and canon/fanon accounts and others will be creations of my imagination._

_Clarifications on how character development, character relationships, characterization will go. _  
_My take on Harry and his friends actions will be heavily influenced on how my life as a teenager/high school student/college freshman had been and on how the Marauders (particularly Sirius Black) and Draco Malfoy and the Slytherins were taken into account by the fanon community of HP. So yes, there will be sex, drugs, and rock and roll, but there will be also account of studious and geeky characterization and a certain fear of the unknown; the future, what the hell will they be doing once they pass their NEWTs, the impending doom that is Voldemort, etc. So, in the story, Harry will seem to be a well adjusted teenager with slightly bigger than normal crossroads in front of him._

_There will be no 'we're in a marriage contract, therefore we should be in love by chapter 3, and have sex by chapter 4', no. That is cliché and does not really happen in real life. (And trust me, I know all about it.) Nor will there be a rain of political power for Harry, nor will he be heirs to various olden families. This story arc will be framed as a coming of age fantasy novel with a certain pull from after school shows and semi-realistic romcoms (i.e. Gossip Girl, Dawson's Creek, Skins, Friends with Benefits, Charlie Bartlett, and American Pie) and real life laws (i.e. the remedial laws of the House of Lords, Common Law on Abuse against Children, Royal Charter on Public Schools, etc.). The pacing will hopefully, develop in a way that will seem natural and realistic._

_There will be a range of girls for little Harry, but no, there will be no 'harem'. He will be involved with a number of girls, but so will his friends; the girls will also be involved with a number of guys and will probably be a bit more promiscuous than the boys. It's all under the guise of teenage experimentation, hormones, and some form of powerplay about being able to brag they have slept with the fittest witch that ever walked the halls of Hogwarts or snogging the Boy-who-Lived in the Restricted Section of the library._

_Clarifications on Story Development. _  
_My bet this arc will last at least ten whole chapters, minus the prologue. The point of view will be third person limited; changing every chapter published reminiscent of The Song of Fire and Ice only not as long nor as confusing. There will be the common tropes in the HP pure blood fanon, such as marriage contracts, unbreakable marriage contracts, life debts, magical bonds, family magicks, the Wizengamot, political maneuvering and alliance building. There will also be magical creatures that were not really capitalized in the books, such as veelas, werewolves, metamorphagi, and vampires; there will also be a deeper dissertation on their abilities and history as a creature in the expanse of this story._

_This arc is a purely Character Development Arc, and therefore all its contents will focus on the inner workings of the minds of teenagers. There will be no outright plannings for leading the war, no blatant government overthrows or leading a school wide mutiny, no vigilante-esque killings of Death Eaters or burning down Knockturne Alley or Riddle Manor. No, that will be saved for later. What you will get here is the regular teenage snitz on who's the hottest chick, will there be a party, quidditch, pranks, will I get laid, will she notice me, is Snape still a git, where the hell are the kitchens, and other stuff like that._

_And lastly, since this is an AU, there will be backstories incorporated into the mentions of certain events (i.e. the troll, the stone, the basilisk and the diary, the triwizard cup)._

_This is a work of fiction, heavily based upon the works of JK Rowling's Harry Potter series. This is non-profit and I do not claim ownership of anything that is written here._

* * *

"In my stars I am above thee; but be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em."

— Malvalio, The Twelfth Night (1602)

* * *

**PROLOGUE: The Sorting**

A horrible thought struck Harry, as horrible thoughts always do when you're very nervous. What if he wasn't chosen at all? What if he just sat there with the hat over his head for ages, until Professor McGonagall jerked it off his head and said there had obviously been a mistake and he'd better get back on the train?

When Neville Longbottom, the boy who kept losing his toad, was called, he fell over on his way to the stool. The hat took a long time to decide with Neville. When it finally shouted, "GRYFFINDOR," Neville ran off still wearing it, and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to "MacDougal, Morag."

Malfoy swaggered forward when his name was called and got his wish at once: when the hat had barely touched his head when it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!" Malfoy went to join his friends Crabbe and Goyle, looking pleased with himself.

There weren't many people left now. "Moon," "Nott," "Parkinson," then a pair of twin girls, "Patil," and "Patil," then "Perks, Sally Anne," and then at last — "Potter, Harry!"

As Harry stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall.

"Potter, did she say?"

"The Harry Potter?"

The last thing Harry saw before the hat dropped over his eyes was the hall full of people craning to get a good look at him. Next second he was looking at the black inside of the hat.

He waited.

"Hmm," said a small voice in his ear. "Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There's talent, my goodness, yes — a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting... So where shall I put you?"

Harry gripped the edges of the stool and thought: _not Slytherin, not Slytherin._

"Not Slytherin, eh?" said the small voice. "Were you not listening to me earlier?"

_What?_ Harry thought, _what do you mean?_

"Or perhaps in Slytherin you'll make your real friends, those cunning folks use any means to achieve their ends." the Hat intoned, "You could be great, you know, it's all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that —"

_Friends? Greatness? I'm just Harry Potter, sir. I think you've got the wrong boy._

"That is why you'll do best in — SLYTHERIN!"

Harry heard the hat shout the last word to the whole hall. He took the hat off and walked shakily toward the Slytherin table, fear reverberating each step he took. Slytherin was the house of Dark Wizards and of Lord Voldemort, why must he be sorted here?

_Friendship, greatness, talent._

Harry looked around the hall; they were all staring at him, all except Slytherin who were politely clapping. Ron looked at him as if he committed treason of the highest order and Hagrid looked gobsmacked. He felt his heartbreak for a moment, then Harry squared his shoulders and gave a bow towards the whole of the Slytherin table.

That was the start of a new chapter of his life; there will no longer be the little boy locked in the cupboard under the stairs, but rather he will be Harry Potter: Slytherin.


End file.
